Kennedy delivers $188,000 for communications

by Philip Marcelo
in the Providence Journal

CUMBERLAND — U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy yesterday delivered a $188,000 check to town officials to upgrade the Police Department communications system through the purchase of new computers and radio systems for police officers and dispatchers.

Police Chief John R. Desmarais said that the department expects to invest the money in a system that transfers signals via microwave rather than phone lines. The system, which will be the first of its kind in the state, will allow the department to coordinate police, fire and rescue personnel even in inclement weather, when communication is often hindered under the current system, he said.

“Our communication will be enhanced in such a way that we will not have to rely on cell phone towers. It will be more consistent, dependable and reliable,” Desmarais said.

Mayor Daniel J. McKee said that the federal money comes at a “difficult time for the state,” when communities need to look beyond their tax base for revenue and more toward outside sources.

Kennedy said that the money, a federal appropriation, was secured as a result of his growing influence on the House Appropriations Committee, which he characterized as “the most powerful committee in Congress.”

Kennedy is serving his seventh year on the committee, which has authority over all of the federal government’s discretionary spending. He is a member of the Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on the Departments of Science, State, Justice and Commerce.

[read the rest in the Providence Journal]

Kennedy to tour Branch Village

by JOSEPH FITZGERALD
in the Woonsocket Call

NORTH SMITHFIELD — U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) will visit North Smithfield Sunday for a briefing and tour of the Branch Village district.

The tour kicks off at noon with a brief welcome and reception at the North Smithfield Fire and Rescue Service building at the corner of Great Road and St. Paul Street.
Kennedy will join town officials and members of the Branch Village Revitalization Task Force (BVRTF) to discuss the town's request for a $5.78 million federal appropriation to match the town’s infrastructure investment of $6.1 million for the revitalization of Branch Village.

[read the rest in the Woonsocket Call]